Recipe For Monkey Bread

I learned of this tasty, gooey stuff when I ordered pizza one night and instead of seeing “dessert pizza” on the menu I saw “monkey bread.” Cinnamon-sugary pull-apart rolls dripping butter are so simple to make, they clearly fit on the list of holiday traditions. So easy to prepare, children and grown-ups can work together to assemble (and eat) them for breakfast on a busy celebratory morning. They have become part of our Easter tradition, after the baskets and beofre church, they're an integral part of our special Easter breakfast. They would just as easily work for Christmas, birthdays or any other occasion wherein families nosh and party together. This recipe makes use of frozen bread dough, since making bread from scratch is just too much for me on top of all the other festive preparations, but if you’re braver and more domestically skilled than I, feel free to mix, knead, and punch to your heart’s delight! This recipe also assumes it is morning. Adjust your thawing time if you’re making it later in the day.

Ingredients

2 loaves frozen white bread dough

1/2 Cup (1 stick) Unsalted Butter, melted

About 1 Cup white sugar

1-2 Tablespoons Cinnamon (depending on taste)

Directions

The night before, leave dough to thaw in the refrigerator, according to package directions. (Or, place both loaves next to each other in greased pan. Place greased plastic wrap over top.) In the morning remove from the refrigerator and allow to rise for about an hour, or until it is about doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 350° . Mix sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Grease a round pan.

Pull off small sections of dough, about the size of small dinner rolls. Roll each in the butter first, then the sugar mixture. Place in pan touching each other. You may make an inner and outer ring.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the rolls in the center are no longer doughy and the tops are golden and crusty.